Multi-linear nozzle ballistic attenuator of recoil,blast and flash



y 1969 A. PILLERSDORF 3,455,203

MULTI-LINEAR NOZZLE BALLISTIC ATTENUATOR OF ASH Filed March 22, 1967 RECOIL, BLAST AND FL 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2.

FIG. I.

ARTHUR P/LLERSOORF INVENTOR ATTORNEY wmyw July 15, 1969 'A. PILLERSDORF 3,

MULTI'LINEAR NOZZLE BALLISTIC ATTENUATOR OF RECOIL, BLAST AND FLASH Filed March 22, 19.67 3 Sheets-Sheet? FIG. Z v

ARTHUR PILLERSDORF' INV ENT OR ATTORNEY July 15, 1369 A. PILLERSDORF 3,455,203

MULTI-LINEAR NOZZLE BALLISTIC ATTENUATOR OF RECOIL. BLAST AND FLASH Filed March 22. 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 g 8 1 I i 1 ARTHUR P/LLERSDORF INVENTOR ATTORNEY 3,455,203 Patented July 15, 1969 3,455,203 MULTl-LINEAR NOZZLE BALLISTIC ATTENUA- TOR OF RECOIL, BLAST AND FLASH Arthur Pillersdorf, 626 Burkley Ave., Aberdeen, Md. 21001 Filed Mar. 22, 1967, Ser. No. 625,060 Int. Cl. F41f 17/12 US. Cl. 89-14 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure is concerned with recoil, silencer, and flash suppressing attachments for thermodynamic jetting devices, such as muzzles of ordnance weapons. Longitudinal slots are arranged peripherally about both tapered and straight axial bores.

These nozzles begin practically flush with the face of the barrel opening. Having parallel walls, these passageways are treated as jet nozzles to slow or advance the flow of gases in certain areas and to diverge the expellant gases and particles more eiiectively.

In one arrangement for a rifle, slots themselves are given taper in a longitudinal direction, the upper slots converging forwardly and terminating against very small pitch control bosses; and with the lower slots tenminating forwardly in open end flares devised as partial linear nozzles.

Virtual slots are constructed by employing cages of circular section rods, with the spaces between the rods providing jet action and with the curved surfaces of the rods providing minimal disturbance of the radial flow of the gases.

This invention relates generally to gun muzzle attachments, and more particularly it pertains to improvements in kick suppressor-mufllers.

Silencers for guns reduce recoil to a certain amount, but they are not used as such to any great extent.

As silencers, the effect has been nullified by the overriding crack of the travel of supersonic bullets and the flash hiding quality was about all that was practically left in state-of-the-art-models.

It is an object of this invention to provide a muzzle attachment which will give a greatly reduced kicking in present firearms.

Another object of this invention is to provide a muzzle attachment for guns which will direct the muzzle blast after it leaves the muzzle in a manner to efficiently counter movements of the gun barrel.

Another object of this invention is to provide a muzzle attachment having a slightly outwardly tapering bore, with square-sided gas slots and an optional brush ring of special shape.

Another object of the invention is to provide a muzzle attachment with non-equally disposed radial gas slots.

Still another object of this invention resides in providing lengthened and/or widened portions of certain gas slots for diminishing gas and sound pressure at certain radial angles whereby to control pitch of a gun muzzle.

Another object of this invention is to provide outstanding bosses at the end of a gun muzzle flash and recoil reducing attachment for pitch control.

Another object of this invention is to provide grooves or half-nozzles or partial linear slots at the end of a muzzle flash and recoil reducing attachment.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a light-weight improved muzzle attachment for controlling the muzzle gases wherein spaced round or squared rods are employed in parallel cylindrical or cone array,

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a gun muzzle attachment which vents the expellant through a concentric pair of rod arrays.

Other objects and attendant advantages of this inven tion will become more readily apparent and understood from the following detailed specification and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an improved muzzle attachment incorporating features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the attachment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrows thereof;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a modification of the invention;

FIG. '6 is a second embodiment of the invention viewed in longitudinal section;

FIG. 7 illustrates in plan view the forward portion of the second embodiment of the invention of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross section taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are side elevation and end view respectively of a third embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are side and end views of still a fourth embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 13 is an end view of a modification of either the embodiment of FIG. 9 or that of FIG. 11.

Referring now to the details of the invention in the first embodiment of the invention as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, reference numeral 10 indicates generally a muzzle attachment for a thermodynamic jetting device such as a firearm. This attachment 10 mounts on the usual threaded muzzle of a weapon 12 by means of a threaded bore 16. For purposes of securement of the muzzle attachment 10, there are provided wrenching flats 24, and the device is supplied with a lockwasher 14.

Although derived from the flash suppressor commonly used on an M-16 rifle, the present improved attachment differs in being externally cylindrical as opposed to externally tapering and further has a larger outwardly tapering bore 18. The bore 18 begins at or close to the muzzle end of the weapon 12 with its bore 13 and then enlarges with a uniform cone angle of one to three degrees to the end.

A relatively heavy wall is retained during the machining so when radially spaced slots 20 are formed therethrough, with elongated apertures resulting. These slots 18, totaling three, being approximately flush with the face of the gun muzzle, forming extensions of the main nozzle throat, and run parallel with the axis of the bore 18 for a length about six times the caliber of the weapon. Their width is calculated to remove over 60% of the peripheral wall.

An optional brake and brush ring in the form of a flange 22 is machined on the end of the muzzle attachment 10. As shown best in FIG. 2, the flange 22 is given a generally cardioid shape with its origin or pole uppermost. In a recoiling barrel firearm or weapon, the center of gravity of recoiling parts or the recoiling mass is effectively lowered by this cardioid shape of the flange 12. This reduces the overturning moment and permits more accurate burst fire.

It will be noted from the same illustration that the slots 20 are symmetrically oriented with one of them also at the top. This construction not only provides unobstructed vision along the gunsights but results in a certain .flow of gas which tends to not only reduce the kick of the weapon but also to counteract the tendency of the muzzle to climb in automatic rapid firing.

Other dispositions of the slots 20 may similarly be employed as counter-action gas jet apertures as shown in the arrangement in FIG. 5. Here, the muzzle attachment 26 has the tapered bore 28 similar to reference 18 as previously recited. However, the slots are disposed differently to provide diametrically opposed side slots 30 and a downwardly directed bottom slot 32. A sight can be afiixed to the top of the muzzle attachment 26 without impiarment of functioning.

In a second embodiment of the invention, as depicted in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, the muzzle attachment 34 is especially adapted for the M-l4 rifle and its gunsight 120 and has a cylindrical heavy wall body 36, a bore 38 and splines 39 to fit the gun barrel and the usual bayonet lug 42.

The bore 44 through body 36 is not tapered. Instead, there are provided three longitudinal slots 46 in the upp r half portion and two shorter, more forwardly disposed, longitudinal slots 50 in the lower half portion terminating in flat bottom, flared grooves (121) which serve as halfnozzles to facilitate flow of the expellant.

The rearmost portions of the upper slots 46 begin adjacent the gun muzzle as widened portions 48 and then taper down to extend the rest of the way forward with a width equal to that of the bottom slots 50. A boss 52 is positioned oppositely the terminal ends of each of the three upper slots 46, each boss 52 extending radially outward like sectors of an end flange as best shown in FIG. 8. Bosses 52 may also be installed in the widened portions of the upper slots 48 to increase pitch control.

In the third embodiment 54 of the invention as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the body 56 is short, having the threaded counterbore 58 and wrenching flats 60 to adapt it to the weapon. A short cylindrical bore 62 begins adjacent the muzzle of the gun and communicates with "a tapered bore 64 which opens out into the axis of a cylindrical array of spaced rods 70. These rods of round or squared stock are brazed or peened into the body 56 at one end and into an end ring 66 at their distant ends. A bore 68 is provided for the bullet passage through the ring 66. A desirable disposition of the rods 70 is on a radius of about seven times the caliber radius of the weapon.

In a fourth embodiment 72 of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, a short body 74 has the usual wrenching flats 76 and the usual internal thread bore to fit the weapon. However, the bore is formed with adjacent, oppositely-diverging countersinks 78 and 80, the former opening toward the muzzle, the latter opening to the axis of the array of rods 86. These round stock rods 86 are spaced in an outwardly diverging cone configuration being secured at the small end to the body 74 and to a large end ring 82 at the other. A desirable range of cone angle for the rods 86 is 2 to 12 /2 degrees. Reference numeral 84 indicates a large axial bore in the end ring 82.

A concentric pair, rodded type of muzzle attachment is shown in the embodiment 88, FIG. 13. Here, as best viewed toward the end plate 90, there is provided an inner circular array of spaced rods 94 surrounded by a circular outer array of spaced rods 95. The bore for the projectile to pass through the end plate 90 is indicated at 92. It should be noted in this concentric array illustrated, the outer spaced rods 95 are located radially opposite to the spaces between the inner rods 94 and thus are in equal plurality. However, for some applications an un-equal number for the pair of arrays may be desired.

Another notable point is that the modification of FIG. 13 is applicable to either the cylindrical arrangement of FIG. 9 or the conical arrangement of FIG. 11.

What is claimed is:

1. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator for attachment to a thermodynamic jetting device having a bore for the escape of an expellant, comprising, substantially a cylinder having a bore provided therein axially positioned in alignment with said bore of said thermodynamic jetting device, means for attaching said attenuator to said thermodynamic jelling device, said cylinder having radially arranged uninterrupted upper and lower slots. provided therein, each said upper slots consisting in sequence from the upstream end of said cylinder to its downstream end of a wider section, a converging section, and a narrower section, said upper and lower slots having substantially continuous parallel walls throughout their lengths except for said converging sections of said upper slots, with the total of the slot root widths of said slots along the periphery of any transverse section of the interior of said bore of said cylinder throughout said narrower slot sections of said upper slots and said lower slots being of the order of fifty percent greater than the corresponding total are lengths of the remaining wall surfaces of the interior of said bore of said cylinder located between said slots at said transverse section of said cylinder for the maximal radial acceleration of said expellant when said thermodynamic jetting device is operated, and outwardly projecting surfaces positioned at the terminal end of said attenuator orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of said bore of said cylinder for directionally controlling the energy of the accelerated flow of said expellant through said slots, with said narrower slot sections of said upper slots terminating substantially in said orthogonally projecting surfaces for the control of the motion of said thermodynamic jetting device.

2. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 1, wherein said slots being substantially flush with the end of said bore of said thermodynamic jetting device, forming extensions of said bore of said thermodynamic jetting device, thereby achieving high speed divergence and attenuation of the pressure of said expellant.

3. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 2, wherein said slots are arranged parallel with the longitudinal axis of said bore of said thermodynamic jetting device and are in length approximately six times the diameter of said bore of said thermodynamic jetting device.

4. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 1, wherein said slots are equally radially spaced with respect to each other.

5. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 1, wherein said slots are symmetrically oriented with respect to each other, with one of said slots being positioned at the top of said multi-linear nozzle attenuator.

6. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 1, and additionally a brake and brush ring in the form of a flange positioned at the free end of said multi-linear nozzle attenuator.

7. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 6, wherein said flange is substantially of cardioid shape, with its origin uppermost.

8. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 1, wherein three slots are provided, with two of said slots being diametrically opposed side slots and the third slot being downwardly directed.

9. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 1, wherein said cylinder is of uniform wall thickness, with a cylindrical interior and exterior surface.

10. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 9, wherein at least three longitudinal radially arranged slots are provided in the upper half of said cylinder, and at least two shorter, longitudinal radially arranged, more forwardly disposed slots are provided in the lower half of said cylinder, with said last two slots terminating in flat bottom, flared grooves which serve as partial linear nozzles with a flare to facilitate flow of expellant and minimize turbulence.

11. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator for a thermodynamic jetting device, comprising, a radially arranged cluster of spaced rigid rods, with said radially arranged cluster of spaced rigid rods consisting of concentric inner and outer circular arrays of spaced rigid rods, means for attaching said rods rigidly to said thermodynamic jetting device at one end thereof, means for securing said spaced rods in rigid position at the terminal end thereof, said first and second means having a bore therethrough in axis alignment with said nozzle and said radially arranged cluster of spaced rigid rods, said means for securing said rigid rods at the terminal end of said attentuator having outwardly projecting surfaces arranged orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of said bore for directionally controlling the energy of the accelerated flow of the expellant through the slots between said rods.

12. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 11, wherein said rods are of circular cross-section.

13. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 11, wherein said rods are spaced in an outwardly diverging cone configuration.

14. A multi-linear nozzle attenuator as recited in claim 11, wherein the spaced rods of said outer array are located radially opposite to and spaced between the spaced rods of the inner array.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 430,214 6/1890 Maxim 8914 FOREIGN PATENTS 10/1963 Belgium.

2/ 1955 Italy. 8/ 1961 Italy.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner 15 STEPHEN C. BENTLEY, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

